Ever since he began running for office, Rand Paul has been publicly contrasted with his former congressman father. Below are 8 ways Rand Paul is different from Ron Paul:

1. Rand Paul is More Compromising and Pragmatic

Ron Paul often won acclaim for never voting for a tax increase or for any bill not specifically authorized by the Constitution. Rand Paul has indicated an interest in compromising on matters from immigration reform to health care.

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2. Statewide Elections – Rand Paul Has More Appeal Across an Entire State

In his first race, Rand Paul won the primary and general elections by 23 and 12 points, respectively, and has already won more statewide elections than his father. The only time Ron Paul ever won a popular vote was the US Virgin Islands caucus in 2012.

3. Party Politics

Rand Paul endorsed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 in a sign of party loyalty and pragmatism. Ron Paul has not publicly endorsed a major party candidate candidate since Ronald Reagan.

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps commandant said Monday he has asked for the retirement of two general officers in the wake of an attack last year in which 15 insurgents breached a fortified coalition base in Afghanistan, killing two Marines and destroying or damaging more than a dozen coalition aircraft.

Gen. James Amos , the commandant, said the two commanders did not take adequate security measures or exercise the high level of judgment expected of general officers.

"In their duty to protect their forces these two generals did not meet that standard," Amos said in announcing his decision.

The attack on Camp Bastion last September constituted a major security breach and was among the more brazen insurgent assaults in Afghanistan.

Amos said he has asked for the retirement of Maj. Gen. Charles "Mark" Gurganus, who was commander of Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan, and Maj. Gen. Gregg Sturdevant, who was commander of the Marines' aviation wing in the region.

Amos also recommended that Gurganus' nomination to the rank of lieutenant general be rescinded and that Sturdevant receive a letter of censure from the secretary of the Navy.

Attorney General Eric Holder, announcing a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to overturn key parts of North Carolina’s new election law, accused state lawmakers of waging an aggressive, targeted effort to undermine the voting rights of African-Americans and other minorities when they enacted the law last summer.

“The state legislature took extremely aggressive steps to curtail the voting rights of African-Americans,” Mr. Holder said at a press conference. “This is an intentional attempt to break a system that was working.”

Justice Department lawyers are also asking a federal judge to order that North Carolina be subject to special pre-clearance procedures for all future election law changes.“The state legislature took extremely aggressive steps to curtail the voting rights of African-Americans,” Mr. Holder said at a press conference. “This is an intentional attempt to break a system that was working.”

Justice Department lawyers are also asking a federal judge to order that North Carolina be subject to special pre-clearance procedures for all future election law changes.

Ted Cruz, US Senator from Goldman Sachs, his 21 hour talk fest in the Senate, just part o a larger, coordinated fund raising campaign.

WASHINGTON — As Americans awoke to find Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) still conducting his all-night talkathon to stop President Obama's healthcare law on Wednesday, some also found a pleading email in their in-boxes.

"We can win this fight, but we must do our part," read the message from the Senate Conservatives Fund with the subject line "Still Standing." The group specializes in helping conservative Senate candidates — sometimes in campaigns against other Republicans.

"If you want to help us continue to put pressure on wavering Republicans, please donate $5 or more,"

Court decisions and changes in election laws have wiped out limits on how much groups can spend, dramatically increasing the influence of outside organizations on political campaigns and legislative priorities.

The groups, in turn, feed the polarization of Congress, pushing members toward the extremes and sometimes threatening to fund primary challenges against those who consider compromise. Political scientists who study Congress say the degree of partisan polarization in the House and Senate is greater now than at any time since the late 19th century.

"Demonizing the opposition is central to the process" of raising campaign money in the current environment, said Steven S. Smith, political science professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "The more important the development in Washington, the easier it is to scare potential donors into handing over the cash." Spending deadlines, he said, become "natural targets."

"Don't let the GOP take us back to the 1950s! Are you with us?" tweeted Emily's List, the organization that raises money to elect pro-choice female candidates. Their appeal focused on a provision House Republicans put into the latest version of the budget bill. It would enable employers to exclude contraceptive coverage in company insurance plans if they claim they have moral objections to birth control....

In Georgia, Michelle Nunn, daughter of legendary former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn, is running for a U.S. Senate seat in a state where her party hopes to pick up a Republican seat. She contrasted today's Washington dysfunction with an earlier era, when collaboration and problem-solving were considered virtues.

"Name-calling. Brinksmanship. Political posturing," she wrote in a fundraising appeal. "With just days left to avert a government shutdown, Washington is yet again in paralysis." The solution? Send a donation, her missive said.

And Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a favorite of many tea party followers, told his donors the Senate needed more like-minded members. Rubio had just the candidate in mind: conservative Republican Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who hopes to topple Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor.

"Your donation of $5, $10 or $20 will make a real difference," Rubio's note said.

In Washington, Bibi seemed subdued ...He's left with "Stay the Course", as his missive to President Obama.

I mean, really, when Bibi starts sounding like the desert rat, you know there in progress in the Potomac River City!

"I want to express my appreciation to you for the enormous work that's been done to have a sanctions regime in place to thwart Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons," Netanyahu told Obama as they sat before journalists in the Oval Office. "I believe that it's the combination of a credible military threat and the pressure of those sanctions that has brought Iran to the negotiating table."

Interesting, the bluster when in reality, there is no credible military threat that can be waved at the Iranians.All the progress towards a negotiated settlement is due to the sanctions regime. The military threat has remained constant, throughout, never influencing Iran before.

The move towards negotiations, it is all due to the economic sanctions, but what's a war mongering Bibi to do...He's go no option but go with the flow, at least in public.

Why Israel should think about re-pivoting toward ChinaChina won't be replacing the U.S. as Israel's strongest ally anytime soon, but Israel should still look to build stronger bridges with the newest 'responsible adult' in the international community.

Magnificent Ronald and the Founding Fathers of al Qaeda

“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — Ronald Reagan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns (1985). During Reagan’s 8 years in power, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars of military aid to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in a US-supported jihad against the Soviet Union. We repeated the insanity with ISIS against Syria.